I too struggle with this. I love it all. I think to be a really successful dealer , you have to not also be a collector. The people who are successful dealers that I know, and are able to support themselves in the business. do not hold on to anything. It is strictly a business. I am sure there are exceptions to this. But the older I get, the easier it seems for me to sell things and not get too attached.

I know from working with a lot of dealers who sell on GoAntiques, many of them are Collectors turned Dealers. When the collection becomes to large and the barns are full, they start looking to sell. It's very easy to become inventory rich and money poor if all you do is buy, buy, buy.

I try view my inventory as my "rotating collection." So I get to enjoy the item for a while, then it goes to its new home. But still, every now and then there is that special piece that I fall in love with. These are usually the one of a kind handmade things, where I know I will never find another just like it. Hard to let them go!
TFH

tinfoilhat: yes, I agree totally. Sometimes, I think I am buying something for my collection, and I end up not loving it, so I sell it. And on the other side of the coin, sometimes I think I am buying something for my store, and I end up loving it, and cannot move it along. It seems random. In general, I TRY not to have more than one of anything in my collection, so that forces me to move things along so my house truly does not resemble a zoo or toy store.